Qualifications for a Researcher?

" . . . a healthy inquisitiveness and a good nose for a rat"

So said the doyen of modern tartan researchers the late Jamie Scarlett MBE.

Despite the feeling that many may have, that we know everything there is to know about tartans and Highland dress, that just isn't the case and there are many areas where interested amateur historians could help increase the knowledge bank and help the Tartans Authority to further refine its records.

An excellent example of this has been the clutch of Irish clan/family tartans that have been around for a couple of decades at least. They all had one thing in common and that was that their recorded provenance was a French publication called Clans Originaux produced by J. Claude in Paris in 1880. Only one known copy of this publication could be traced - to an American mill - and it was not until 2003 that a copy of its contents page was obtained by the Tartans Authority which showed that ...not one of the claimed Irish tartans came from that publication. See the full report at Clans Originaux. An exciting piece of detective work which paid dividends!

There are many more puzzles out there just waiting for budding (or full-fledged) historians or enthusiasts to get their teeth into. If you have that healthy inquisitiveness and a good nose for a rat as recommended by Jamie Scarlett, then let us know. Equally, if you have a specialist knowledge of your clan tartans, share it with us so that we can ensure that our records are as accurate as possible. Drop us an e-mail at research@tartansauthority.com